Parasha: Acharei Mot

Leviticus 16:1–18:30 (LEB)

The Day of Atonement

16 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons, when they had come near ⌊before⌋ Yahweh and they died. 2 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell your brother Aaron that he should not enter at any time into the sanctuary ⌊behind⌋ the curtain ⌊in front of⌋ the atonement cover that is on the ark, so that he might not die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.

3 “Aaron must enter the sanctuary with this: ⌊a young bull⌋ as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. 4 He must put on ⌊a holy linen tunic⌋, and linen undergarments must be on his body, and he must fasten himself with a linen sash, and he must wrap a linen turban around his head—they are holy garments, and he shall wash his body with water, then he shall put them on. 5 And he must take from the ⌊Israelites⌋’ community two he-goats as a sin offering and one ram as a burnt offering.

6 “And Aaron shall present the sin offering’s bull, which is for himself, and so he shall make atonement for himself and for his family. 7 And he shall take the two goats, and he shall present them ⌊before⌋ Yahweh at the tent of assembly’s entrance. 8 Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for Yahweh and one for Azazel. 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot for Yahweh fell, and he shall ⌊sacrifice⌋ it as a sin offering. 10 But he must present alive ⌊before⌋ Yahweh the goat on which the lot for Azazel fell to make atonement for himself, to send it away into the desert to Azazel.

11 “And Aaron shall present the sin offering’s bull, which is for himself, and so he shall make atonement for himself and for his family; then he shall slaughter the sin offering’s bull, which is for himself. 12 And he shall take a censer full of ⌊burning charcoal⌋ from upon the altar from ⌊before⌋ Yahweh and ⌊two handfuls⌋ of incense of powdered fragrant perfumes, and he shall bring it ⌊from behind⌋ the curtain, 13 and he shall put the incense on the fire ⌊before⌋ Yahweh so that the cloud of incense might cover the atonement cover, which is on the ⌊covenant text⌋, so that he might not die. 14 And he shall take ⌊some of⌋ the bull’s blood, and he shall spatter it with his finger on the atonement cover’s surface on the eastern side, and ⌊before⌋ the atonement cover he shall spatter ⌊some of⌋ the blood with his finger seven times.

15 “And he shall slaughter the sin offering’s goat, which is for the people, and he shall bring its blood ⌊from behind⌋ the curtain, and he shall do with its blood as that which he did with the bull’s blood, and he shall spatter it on the atonement cover and ⌊before⌋ the atonement cover. 16 Thus he shall make atonement for the sanctuary from the ⌊Israelites⌋’ impurities and from their transgressions for all their sins; and so he must do for the tent of assembly, which dwells with them in the midst of their impurities. 17 And ⌊no person⌋ shall be in the tent of assembly when he enters to make atonement in the sanctuary until he comes out, and so he shall make atonement for himself and for his family and for all of Israel’s assembly.

18 “Then he shall go out to the altar that is ⌊before⌋ Yahweh, and he shall make atonement for it; and he shall take ⌊some of⌋ the bull’s blood and ⌊some of⌋ the goat’s blood, and he shall put it all around on the altar’s horns. 19 And he shall spatter ⌊some of⌋ the blood on it seven times with his finger, and he shall cleanse it and consecrate it from the ⌊Israelites⌋’ impurities.

20 “And he shall finish making atonement for the sanctuary and the tent of assembly and the altar; then he shall present the living goat. 21 And Aaron shall place his two hands on the living goat’s head, and he shall confess over it all the ⌊Israelites⌋’ iniquities and all their transgressions for all their sins, and he shall put them on the goat’s head, and he shall send it away into the desert ⌊with⌋ a man standing ready. 22 Thus the goat shall bear on it to ⌊a barren region⌋ all their guilt, and he shall send the goat away into the desert.

23 “And Aaron shall enter the tent of assembly, and he shall take off the linen garments that he put on at his coming to the sanctuary, and he shall leave them there. 24 And he shall wash his body with water in a holy place, and he shall put on his garments and go out and ⌊sacrifice⌋ his burnt offering and the people’s burnt offering, and so he shall make atonement for himself and for people. 25 And he must turn into smoke the sin offering’s fat on the altar.

26 “And the person who sends out the goat for Azazel shall wash his garments, and he shall wash his body with water, and ⌊afterward⌋ he shall come to the camp. 27 And the sin offering’s bull and the sin offering’s goat, whose blood was brought to make atonement in the sanctuary, shall be brought ⌊outside the camp⌋, and they shall burn their hide and their flesh and their offal in the fire. 28 And the person who burns them shall wash his garments, and he shall wash his body with water, and ⌊afterward⌋ he must come to the camp.

29 “And this shall be ⌊a lasting statute⌋ for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month, you must deny yourselves and you must not do any work, whether the native or the alien who is dwelling in your midst, 30 because on this day he shall make atonement for you to cleanse you; you must be clean from all your sins ⌊before⌋ Yahweh. 31 It is ⌊a Sabbath of complete rest⌋ for you, and you shall deny yourselves—it is ⌊a lasting statute⌋. 32 And the priest who is anointed and who is ⌊ordained⌋ to serve as a priest in place of his father shall make atonement; thus he shall put on the linen garments, the holy garments, 33 and he shall make atonement for the sanctuary’s holy place, and he shall make atonement for the tent of assembly and the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all of the assembly’s people. 34 And this shall be ⌊a lasting statute⌋ for you to make atonement for the ⌊Israelites⌋ one time in a year from all their sins.” And he did as Yahweh commanded Moses.

The Place of Sacrifice

17 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the ⌊Israelites⌋, and you shall say to them, ‘This is the word that Yahweh has commanded, saying, 3 “⌊Any man⌋ from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a sheep or a goat in the camp or who slaughters it ⌊outside the camp⌋ 4 and he does not bring it to the tent of assembly’s entrance to present an offering to Yahweh ⌊before⌋ Yahweh’s tabernacle, then that man shall be accounted bloodguilty—he has poured out blood, and that man shall be cut off from the midst of his people. 5 This is so that the ⌊Israelites⌋ may bring their sacrifices that they are sacrificing ⌊in the open field⌋ and bring them for Yahweh to the tent of assembly’s entrance to the priest, and they shall sacrifice fellowship offerings for Yahweh with them. 6 And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on Yahweh’s altar at the tent of assembly’s entrance, and he shall ⌊burn⌋ the fat as an appeasing fragrance for Yahweh. 7 And ⌊they may no longer sacrifice⌋ their sacrifices to the goat-idols after which they were prostituting. This is ⌊a lasting statute⌋ for them ⌊throughout⌋ their generations.” ’

Instructions Against Eating Blood

8 “And you shall say to them, ‘if there is ⌊anyone⌋ from the house of Israel or from the alien who dwells in their midst who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice 9 and he does not bring it to the tent of assembly’s entrance to ⌊sacrifice⌋ it for Yahweh, then that man shall be cut off from his people. 10 And if there is ⌊anyone⌋ from the house of Israel or from the alien who is dwelling in their midst who eats any blood, then I will set my face against the person who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from among his people. 11 Indeed the flesh’s life is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives, because it is the blood with the life that makes atonement. 12 ⌊Therefore⌋ I said to the ⌊Israelites⌋, ‘⌊None of you⌋ may eat blood, nor may the alien who is dwelling in your midst eat blood.’

13 “And if there is ⌊anyone⌋ from the ⌊Israelites⌋ or from the alien who is dwelling in their midst who hunts a wild game animal or a bird that may be eaten, then he shall pour out its blood, and he shall cover it with the soil. 14 Indeed, the life of all flesh, its blood, is in its life, so I said to the ⌊Israelites⌋, ‘You may not eat the blood of any flesh, because the life of all flesh is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.’

15 “And if there is any person who eats a dead body or a mangled carcass, whether among the native or among the alien, then he shall wash his garments, and he shall wash himself with water, and he shall be unclean until the evening, and he shall be clean. 16 But if he does not wash his garments and he does not wash his body, then he shall bear his guilt.”

Unlawful Sexual Relations

18 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the ⌊Israelites⌋, and say to them, ‘I am Yahweh your God. 3 You must not ⌊carry out⌋ the practices of the land of Egypt, in which you lived, and you must not ⌊carry out⌋ the practices of the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you; and you must not follow their statutes. 4 You must ⌊carry out⌋ my regulations, and you must observe my statutes by following them; I am Yahweh your God. 5 And you shall observe my statutes and my regulations ⌊by which the person doing them shall live⌋; I am Yahweh.

6 “ ‘⌊None⌋ of you shall approach anyone who is ⌊his close relative⌋ to expose nakedness; I am Yahweh. 7 You must not expose your father’s nakedness or your mother’s nakedness—she is your mother; you must not expose her nakedness. 8 You must not expose the nakedness of your father’s wife—it is your father’s nakedness. 9 As for your sister’s nakedness, whether your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether ⌊born at home⌋ or ⌊born abroad⌋, you must not expose their nakedness. 10 As for the nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter, you must not expose their nakedness, because they are your nakedness. 11 As for the nakedness of the daughter of your father’s wife, she is your sister, a relative of your father; you must not expose her nakedness. 12 You must not expose the nakedness of your father’s sister; she is ⌊your father’s close relative⌋. 13 You must not expose the nakedness of your mother’s sister, because she is ⌊your mother’s close relative⌋. 14 You must not expose the nakedness of your father’s brother; you must not ⌊have sex with⌋ his wife—she is your aunt. 15 You must not expose your daughter-in-law’s nakedness; she is your son’s wife; you must not expose her nakedness. 16 You must not expose the nakedness of your brother’s wife; she is your brother’s nakedness. 17 You must not expose the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, or her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter; you must not take her as wife to expose her nakedness; they are ⌊close relatives⌋—that is wickedness. 18 And you must not take as wife a woman with her sister, to be a rival-wife, to expose her nakedness before her ⌊during⌋ her life.

19 “ ‘And you must not ⌊have sex with⌋ a woman to expose her nakedness ⌊during⌋ her menstrual uncleanness. 20 And ⌊you must not have sex⌋ with your fellow citizen’s wife, becoming unclean with her.

21 “ ‘And you shall not give ⌊any of⌋ your offspring in order to sacrifice them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am Yahweh. 22 And you shall not lie with a male as lying ⌊with⌋ a woman; that is a detestable thing. 23 And you shall not ⌊have sexual relations⌋ with any animal, becoming unclean with it; and a woman shall not stand ⌊before⌋ an animal to copulate with it—that is a perversion.

24 “ ‘You must not make yourself unclean in any of these things, because the nations whom I am driving out from your presence were made unclean by all of these. 25 So the land became unclean, and ⌊I have brought the punishment of⌋ its guilt upon it, and the land has vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But you (neither the native nor the alien who is dwelling in your midst) shall keep my statutes and my regulations, and you shall not ⌊practice⌋ any of these detestable things 27 (because the people of the land, who were ⌊before you⌋, did all these detestable things, so the land became unclean), 28 so that the land will not vomit you out when you make it unclean just as it vomited out the nation that was ⌊before you⌋. 29 Indeed, anyone who does any of these detestable things, even those persons who do so shall be cut off from the midst of their people. 30 Thus you shall keep my obligation to not do any of the statutes ⌊regarding⌋ the detestable things that they did ⌊before you⌋, so that you will not make yourselves unclean by them; I am Yahweh your God.’ ”

PROPHETS

Ezekiel 22:1–19 (LEB)

Highlighting the Sins and the Judgments of Israel

22 And the word of Yahweh came to me, ⌊saying⌋, 2 “And you, son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the ⌊bloody city⌋? Then you must make known to her all of her detestable things! 3 And you must say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “A city pouring out blood in the midst of her; ⌊its time has come⌋, and it made idols for itself, becoming unclean. 4 By your blood that you poured out you have become guilty, and by your idols that you made you have become unclean, and you have brought your days near, ⌊and your appointed years have come⌋. Therefore I have made you a disgrace for the nations and a laughingstock to all of the countries. 5 The people near and the people far from you will make fun of you, ⌊the unclean and the terrified⌋. 6 Look! The princes of Israel, each one according to his strength, they are in you ⌊for the shedding of blood⌋. 7 They have treated father and mother with contempt in you; ⌊they violated⌋ the alien with extortion; in the midst of you they mistreated the orphan and widow. 8 You despised my holy objects; my Sabbaths you profaned. 9 Slanderous men are ⌊among you⌋ to shed blood, and they, ⌊among you⌋, eat upon the mountains; they do wickedness in the midst of you. 10 They uncover the nakedness of a father among you; they violate a woman unclean of menstruation among you. 11 And a man does a detestable thing with the wife of his neighbor, and a man defiles his daughter-in-law in wickedness, and a man sexually violates among you his sister, the daughter of his father. 12 They take a bribe among you in order to shed blood; and you take usury, and you make gain from your neighbors by extortion, and so you have forgotten me, ⌊declares⌋ the Lord Yahweh. 13 And look! I strike my hand for your ill-gotten gain that you have made and at your blood that was in the midst of you. 14 Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong at the days in which I am dealing with you? I, Yahweh, I have spoken, and I will act! 15 I will scatter you among the nations, and I will disperse you through the countries, and I will purge your uncleanness from you. 16 And I will be profaned by you before the eyes of the nations, and you will know that I am Yahweh.” ’ ”

17 And the word of Yahweh came to me, ⌊saying⌋, 18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become as silver dross to me; all of them are as bronze and tin and iron and lead in the midst of a furnace, even as silver dross, silver dross they became! 19 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: ‘Because all of you have become as silver dross, therefore look! I am gathering you to the midst of Jerusalem,

GOSPELS

Matthew 15:1–20 (LEB)

Human Traditions and God’s Commandments

15 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat ⌊a meal⌋.” 3 So he answered and* said to them, “Why do you also break the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your* father and your* mother,’ and ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother ⌊must certainly die⌋.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his* father or his* mother, “Whatever ⌊benefit you would have received⌋ from me is a gift to God,” 6 need not honor his father,’ and you make void the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Isaiah correctly prophesied about you saying,

8 ‘This people honors me with their* lips,

but their heart is far, far away from me,

9 and they worship me in vain,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

Defilement from Within

10 And summoning the crowd, he said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth—this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and* said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they* heard this saying?” 13 And he answered and* said, “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 14 Let them! They are blind guides of the blind. And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter answered and* said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16 But he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not understand that everything that enters into the mouth goes into the stomach and is evacuated into the latrine? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these defile the person. 19 For from the heart come evil plans, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, abusive speech. 20 These are the things that defile a person. But eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person!”

THEOLOGY

Romans 3:1–28 (LEB)

Jews Still Have an Advantage

3 Therefore, what is the advantage of the Jew, or what is the use of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. For first, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 ⌊What is the result⌋ if some refused to believe? Their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? 4 May it never be! But let God be true but every human being a liar, just as it is written,

“In order that you may be justified in your words,

and may prevail when you are* judged.”

5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? God, who inflicts wrath, is not unjust, is he? (I am speaking according to a human perspective.) 6 May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world? 7 But if by my lying, the truth of God abounded to his glory, why am I also still condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not (as we are slandered, and as some affirm that we say), “Let us do evil, in order that good may come of it”? Their condemnation is just!

The Entire World Guilty of Sin

9 What then? Do we have an advantage? Not at all. For we have already charged both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, 10 just as it is written,

“There is no one righteous, not even one;

11 there is no one who understands;

there is no one who seeks God.

12 All have turned aside together; they have become worthless;

There is no one who practices kindness;

there is not even one.

13 Their throat is an opened grave;

they deceive with their tongues;

the venom of asps is under their lips,

14 whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.

15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16 destruction and distress are in their paths,

17 and they have not known the way of peace.

18 The fear of God is not before their eyes.”

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those under the law, in order that every mouth may be closed and the whole world may become accountable to God. 20 For by the works of the law ⌊no person will be declared righteous⌋ before him, for through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Righteousness through Faith Revealed

21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified about by the law and the prophets—22 that is, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by his grace, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God made publicly available as the mercy seat through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness, because of the passing over of previously committed sins, 26 in the forbearance of God, for the demonstration of his righteousness in the present time, so that he should be just and the one who justifies the person by faith in Jesus.

27 Therefore, where is boasting? It has been excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28 For we consider a person to be justified by faith apart from the works of the law.

Romans 9:1–30 (LEB)

Israel’s Rejection

9 I am telling the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears witness to me in the Holy Spirit—2 that my grief is great and there is constant distress in my heart. 3 For I could wish myself to be accursed from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my fellow countrymen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom belong the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the temple service, and the promises, 5 to whom belong the patriarchs, and from whom is the Christ according to human descent, who is God over all, blessed ⌊forever⌋! Amen.

6 But it is not as if the word of God had failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are descendants of Abraham, but “In Isaac will your descendants be named.” 8 That is, it is not the children ⌊by human descent⌋ who are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants. 9 For the statement of the promise is this: “At this time I will return and ⌊Sarah will have⌋ a son.” 10 And not only this, but also when* Rebecca conceived children by one man, Isaac our father—11 for although they* had not yet been born, or done anything good or evil, in order that the purpose of God according to election might remain, 12 not by works but by the one who calls—it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger,” 13 just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

God’s Sovereign Choice to Show Mercy

14 What then shall we say? There is no injustice with God, is there?* May it never be! 15 For to Moses he says, “I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I have compassion.” 16 Consequently therefore, ⌊it does not depend on the⌋ one who wills or on the one who runs, but on God who shows mercy. 17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very reason I have raised you up, so that I may demonstrate my power in you, and so that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 Consequently therefore, he has mercy on whomever he wishes, and he hardens whomever he wishes.

19 Therefore you will say to me, “Why then does he still find fault? For who has resisted his will? 20 On the contrary, O man, who are you who answers back to God? Will what is molded say to the one who molded it, “Why did you make me like this”? 21 Or does the potter not have authority over the clay, to make from the same lump a vessel that is for ⌊honorable use⌋ and one that is for ⌊ordinary use⌋? 22 And what if God, wanting to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? 23 And he did so* in order that he could make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy that he prepared beforehand for glory, 24 us whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25 As he also says in Hosea,

“I will call those who were not my people, ‘My people,’

and those who were not loved, ‘Loved.’

26 And it will be in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’

there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ”

27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel,

“Even if the number of the sons of Israel is like the sand of the sea,

the remnant will be saved,

28 ⌊for the Lord will execute his sentence thoroughly and decisively⌋ upon the earth.”

29 And just as Isaiah foretold,

“If the Lord of hosts had not left us descendants,

we would have become like Sodom

and would have resembled Gomorrah.”

30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness—even the righteousness that is by faith.